Grimes predicts about 12.5% turnout for Kentucky primary

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s chief election official is projecting about 12.5% of the state’s registered voters will turn out for next week’s primary election.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Thursday it appears turnout next Tuesday will be consistent with past primary elections, based partly on current absentee voting patterns.

Grimes says it’s “not OK” for such a small portion of Kentuckians to vote and says she hopes more Kentuckians go to the polls to prove her prediction wrong.

Kentuckians will be selecting nominees for governor and other statewide constitutional offices next week.

Grimes tracks absentee ballot totals as an indicator of Election Day turnout. Based on current statistics, Grimes projects next week’s turnout will be in the range of the 2015 primary election, when nearly 12.6 percent of Kentuckians voted.